Metal Messiah Radio

Ads

Article - Keep the Passion Living

Date: 2012-06-07

By: Carmina Khairallah

There are many who say that any Rock or Metal band falls into one ofthree categories: the ones who are in it for the Rock star image, witha beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other and flocks of members ofthe opposite sex at their feet; the ones with band members who eachhave a very busy life and go practice and perform to let off steam;and the “serious” band, which’s members are in it to make it work. Tome, the category in which a band is classified is not of merely anyimportance. What does matter, though, is one simple factor: passion.

We have all witnessed (or watched on Youtube) on one hand many bandswho climb on stage, play perfectly, then go on with their lives,without leaving any impression whatsoever in the audience’s minds andhearts. Their music, lyrics and choreography are perfect, and theymight have many fans that highly enjoy listening to their songs andwatching videos of their concerts while tending to their dailyactivities. But when someone asks these people about their favoritebands, they might even forget these very bands exist.

On the other hand, sometimes, a band or Artist climbs on stage. Theytune their instruments and mics, get ready, and start performing fromthe very core of their hearts. At that very instant, the whole crowdis mesmerized, chills take a hold of their bodies, and they just standthere with their jaws flapping, whether the performers are goodmusically or not. The next day, those who have attended that band orArtist’s show download or buy their music, or sometimes even the musicthey’ve covered, and listen to it for the rest of the day, preferablysharing it with friends who are now more than looking forward tocatching the performers’ next gig.

The one factor that differentiates between those two kinds ofmusicians is passion. Honestly, passion is the one thing that isreally missing in most musicians of our Lebanese Rock and Metal scene.But if you truly think about it, that’s just not right.

Here in Lebanon, how does a band benefit from performing live in frontof a crowd? Whatever they gain from it, it is definitely not money, asin our scene we have to admit that losses are more frequent thangains, and gains are never very consequent, especially not at thebeginning of a musician’s career. Is it the fun of it, the relief fromthe boring and stressful everyday routine? Maybe, but honestly, thereare many ways to achieve that without losing time and money. Wellthen, what are all these bands doing on stage without even reallyenjoying what they are doing?

What I think is that this passion is abundant in our scene, exceptthat most people seem to have given up on it. To all those who play aninstrument, picture this: you are young, either a young child or anearly teenager. One of your elder siblings or friends or your motheror father makes you listen to a certain song, or you just see it on TVor hear it on the radio. And you simply fall in love with it.

Furthermore, there’s this one instrument in the song that captivatesyou above all others. It may be the guitar, the piano, the drums, thebass, the violin or the ukulele. Whatever it is, you now know only onething: you want to be like the genius who used that instrument in thatsong. You start begging your parents for money or work extra hard toearn it, just to get that instrument, and lessons on how to use it. Orif it’s the one who sang the song who got your blood pumping extrahard, you do everything in your power to find the best singinginstructor ever. And you practice for hours a day, so much that all ofyour neighbors start complaining about the noise, but you reallycouldn’t care less. I am sure that every single one of you instrumentholders has lived a scene similar to that one. Yet, that glow that lityour eyes when you could finally cover the first few notes of thatabnormally amazing song, that excitement that almost tied your throatshut, the pounding on your heart as you started actually creatingmusic… In my two years of attending local concerts, the number ofmusicians which I’ve seen holding these things on stage could becounted on both of my hands’ fingers, easily.

What about you, fellow listener? Yes, you are concerned too. I am notgoing to believe that, no matter how good or bad your first concertwas, it was not one of the most exhilarating days of your life. You,yes you who, when you were just a kid, would run away from home totravel kilometers alone by bus just to attend a gig with your heartbeating loud and proud with excitement, knowing that your parentswould kill you the next day but more than ready to assume theconsequences of your actions as soon as you come back from thatamazing event, can you look me in the eyes and tell me you still evencare about going to any concert apart from the “big” internationalgigs? Of course, I am not referring to everyone in the scene, but wehave to admit that most of us are concerned. I know, concerts are notthe same as they were “back in the days”. But isn’t that flame thatinvaded your body, even if you simply heard that there was some newlocal band playing at some random junkyard, still somewhere inside ofyou?

Whether you know how to play 7 instruments or none, whether you’vebeen in the scene for 20 years or 20 days, whether you know eachmember of the Rock and Metal scene personally or have just met 2 or 3of them, I know that that flame lies deep inside each and every one ofyou. And if you do feel that flame roaring in your chest, it’s time toget on your feet and let it out! The Rock and Metal Scene should besomething that our country is proud of; we have more to give musicallythan many bigger, more “important” countries. It’s true, internationalbands are coming over by the dozen this year, but our local Scene isour trademark, it is what proves that we are Rockers and Metal Headsat hearts! Don’t give up, keep your hearts open to the music, keep thepassion living!

Name

Email

Country

Comment

Enter The Security Code:

Loading ...

Comments

By Carmina Khairallah

From Lebanon

Date 2012-06-09 23:09:39

Comment:

Thanks a lot Dolly, I'm glad you like it, that was exactly what I was trying to do and I'm very glad it worked out with you (:. Hoping it'll help make things move a bit, cheers \m/

By Dolly F.F

From Lebanon

Date 2012-06-07 03:03:03

Comment:

Its Amazing how you have understood the pasion inside us with ur experience and described it with words \m/